Have just spent most of the morning looking at all this info!
A bit of background. I am 21years old, and in October will be qualified with a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary). I also have an Advanced TESOL Certificate. My partner has just accepted a rugby contract in Hohen Neuendorf which is about 25 mins from Berlin.. (I've never been to Europe before so am bursting with excitement!!)

At the moment I am tossing up between teaching or being an au pair..
Teaching is what I love and do best but I am not getting much response from schools.. I'm guessing its best to be in Germany handing out my CV in person right? It would be nice to secure a job before I leave in October though.. I have 2 years of nanny experience so could go down this path too..

I have been keeping an eye out on craigslist.de and toytown.. Is there anywhere else I should be looking/considering? I'm not looking to make alot of money, just to have enough to enjoy Germany and do a bit of travelling around Europe..

I'm afraid it's highly unlikely you'd secure work from abroad, especially for work with kids (nanny jobs, as TEFL will almost certainly be adults). Does your partner's visa details include you as well? Do you also have an EU passport? Otherwise on an NZ passport, you're bound by the European Schengen laws, which I assume you'll be aware of as you've spent time reading the threads here. If you want to try for freelance status look at the sticky by Dannenbr at the top of the page.

As a NZer under 27 (I think that's the age for a working hol visa), your best chance for work as a primary school teacher in Europe would be England. I realise that's not what you asked about, but it might be worth considering in the long term if you're there for long. Germany's not hard to get to on trips and vice versa.

Last edited by artemisia on Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:13 am; edited 1 time in total

I have been offered a nanny position in Berlin.. They would pay for my health insurance and transportation costs from Hohen Neuendorf to Berlin. Its around 20 hours a week @ 12 euros an hour.. 240 euros a week..

My partner is making at least 600 euros a month..

Our accommodation is free.. Is this enough to get by on? We do want to do as much traveling as possible..

I've looked online and everywhere tells you different prices for cost of living!!

Accom is the big thing there. Do you know if it's "warm"? As in inclusive of elec/gas & water? Even if it's not, free accom is great.

Good for you for being so organised! Will you get paid hols? Best you find out that and how long for & when. That could curtail your travel plans if you don't negotiate it. There are cheap supermarkets like Aldi, Lidl, Pennymarkt and probably other ones local to your town. You should be fine.

You used to be able to travel very cheaply at weekends with one ticket (per person) if you only caught local trains (not the ICE). That meant you could get across the whole of Germany on that one ticket over two days if you wanted to or do day return trips somewhere. (A lot of attention needed to be paid to local timetables and connections!) I remember doing a day trip on a bus to Switzerland once. You won't have loads of money for expensive tickets and accom but there are plenty of hostels and buses/trains around Europe. Germany is well-placed on the continent for this - bang in the centre of it all.

You should also be able to buy a youth Eurorail pass if you're under 25 (26?). I suggest you find out about that before you leave; might be cheaper to buy in NZ if you can.

Check out cheap tickets on Berlin public transport. There is a website and you can fire off questions in English. They answer very quickly - in perfect English.Cant remember site but try a google. Berlin itself has a HUGE variety of places to visit. parks and green spaces too !

Thanks for all the insider advice..
My partner has just received his plane tickets and he is off on the 25th of September.. I will be joining him one month later.
I have read that we will be coming into winter in October.. How chilly is the winter's in Berlin? Here in New Zealand, we are just coming out of winter and it hasn't been too bad this year.

Also, I have two potential nanny jobs and 1 interview with a language school. Prospects are looking good.. My next question, the tax! 40% in Germany, eek! I understand there is no way around this? (being under 25, on a working holiday visa...??).

By Xmas time - very. You'll need a really good coat/jacket + woolly hat, scarf &gloves. Also leather shoes/boots with good tread. Walking can get extremely slippery, even with grit down. When it snows and if it then freezes over on top (after raining), it'll be like an ice skating rink. It's a lovely time in Germany though, with the Xmas markets before Xmas.

Quote:

My partner is making at least 600 euros a month

So about 7 - 8,000 euro per year. He'll have to check, but that sounds like the maximum amount you can earn before being liable for tax. Does he have his health insurance covered? I hope so as that's one of the big costs there. Can he also find out if he has to pay into the pension fund? Unlikely, but whoever is offering him this contract is really your best source of information. Presumably they will pay whatever needs to be paid, including health insurance, but he could clarify what they're obliged to do on his behalf. You'll need health insurance and as a teacher you may be hit for the pension tax. However, as you are not EU and there short-term under a working hol visa, maybe not. German tax laws are tricky to say the least. You might get a few clues from this thread:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=85392

Also try to see what info the German embassy/consulates in NZ can give you about obligations re: pension tax and health insurance for the duration of your working hol stay. You might be able to go under travel health insurance. You'll want to compare prices if so as that's not necessarily cheap either. Good luck!

Bitterly cold - colder than anything you have experienced in NZ. Think of NYC or Moscow. That is what it is like. It was a great shock to me when I went there in 1968-1969 after the gentler climes of Caledonia !